I'm Sorry

Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday in the Catholic Church.  On Easter Sunday Jesus rose from the dead and opened the gates of heaven for us.  One week later, we celebrate His Mercy, that despite our sins, He wants us with Him.

We are called to confess our sins and resolve to change our lives, that in doing so we may be fit to accept His invite into His Kingdom.  In the Gospels, Jesus often showed mercy, to the adulterous woman, to the tax collector, and even to Peter.  He is a God of justice, yes, but tempered with love and mercy.  It is fitting to set a day focused on His Mercy on us.  And in this time of pandemic, it is fitting to ask His Mercy on us, and on the whole world.

But, … the above prayers and reflections are focused on God and His relationship with me, certainly a most important thing as I strive to live His call to me, and to yearn for the heaven He did open for me.  But my life is not just about me.  And so, even as I celebrate His Mercy on me and pray for His Mercy on the world, I also pray that I might follow His example, that I might show unlimited mercy to those He puts into my life.  As I pray He acts, so I must be prepared to act.  Even as I pray “forgive us our trespasses,” I must complete the prayer “as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  It is said that that prayer, the one Jesus taught us, is the most important prayer we could ever pray, and so we must pray it most sincerely.

As I think of you, my friends, people God has put into my life, I consider our sins against each other.  If you know me at all, even if only through these blog postings, at some time --- perhaps even often --- I have failed you.  I’ve done things with a deliberateness which reflected my thoughts or feelings, without due consideration of your thoughts or feelings.  Perhaps I thought my words or actions were correct, were just even, but they were a justice not tempered by love or mercy.  My words and actions are often focused on me and my desires, even like my prayers for God’s Mercy today, but I shouldn’t forget the reason that I ask for God’s Mercy --- because I have sinned against Him, and in justice I deserve punishment, but I call on His love and mercy.  And so, today my friends, I ask your love and mercy, for I am sure that I have sinned against you, some day, some way, in my focus on myself.  And I ask your forgiveness and mercy.

And as for things you may have said or done against my wishes or feelings, I promise to try to never remember them.  I recognize that if you sin against me, you are not perfect, and I love you as you are.

Part of Divine Mercy Sunday is about forgetting the past and living in the now, confident of Christ’s love and Mercy, even in this time of worldwide, and personal trial.  My Jesus, I trust in You, and in Your Mercy.